Saturday, May 24, 2014

I just finished this runner and really like how it turned out. It's made of natural burlap, woven with jute and appliqued with gauze-like linen waves. I wanted the look to be very raw and all natural looking.

Here's how it was made:

I started by measuring and cutting my piece of burlap. Then I created a paper template of waves, pinned it to my gauze, which I had backed with a fusible fabric stabilizer, and cut it out.

I then pulled out a couple strands and wove in a piece of jute the full length of the runner on each end. Taking a large embroidery needle, I wove in a couple strands of an off-white burlap for some contrast.

Next step was to pin the applique waves in place. And, with my machine set at a very small, tight zig zag, I sewed the applique to the runner. This was a bit tricky with all the twists and turns.

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Last, all the edges were zig zagged to lock the weave in place so it will not unravel. I then apply a light starch with a hot iron to flatten and add body to the material. The look is just what I was after -- shabby chic, beachy, nautical and natural! Hope you like it. It's for sale in my Etsy Shop, www.etsy.com/shop/Floatinteriors.

Friday, May 23, 2014

I got this wonderful citrus colored fabric, Robert Allen's Beach Bongo, for making a couple of pillow covers. This is an indoor/outdoor fabric, which I love. After I cut my pillows out I noticed I had a chunk of fabric left over that had some of the seashells on it. I decided to cut the seashells out and make them into appliques, which I then stitched on to pieces of bright green burlap.

Well, now what. I thought about sewing them on to pillows, but I already had pillows. What about a runner that could be thrown over an outdoor table that would look great with the pillows tossed on to accompanying chairs. I just happened to have enough bright orange burlap. What luck!

I cut the runner, and placed the appliques when I realized I didn't have any orange thread. I didn't want to sew the appliques on to the runner and be able to see a different color thread on the backside.

Here's where the lazy part kicks in -- I was too lazy to drive to the fabric store to buy orange thread, so I decided I'd sew the appliques on by hand using strands of the orange burlap.

Liking the look of this, I then wove some of the green burlap threads along both long sides to frame the appliques. But now I had to figure out how I was going to 'lock' the long edges so they would not fray. This is normally where I would have sewn them by machine, but again, no orange thread. Well, I remembered my cross-stitching from years ago and decided this was going to be the solution. I love the look, but the problem with cross-stitching is that IT TAKES SO DARN LONG TO DO!

Oh well, as I mentioned, I was too lazy to drive to the fabric store to buy orange thread...so that's how this particular runner was designed.

Float Interiors

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About Me

Hi, welcome to my blog. This is where you'll find some of the inspiration behind my sewing and crafting projects, many of which make their way to my Etsy shop. I also share 'how tos' for some of my crafting in case you are interested in trying some of them yourself.